New Study: Diet Beverages Can Help People Lose Weight

This article, entitled "New Study: Diet Beverages Can Help People Lose Weight," comes from Carolyn O'Neil at BestFoodFacts.org.

“If you want to consume diet sodas, it won’t hurt, and it might actually help you lose weight,” said Dr. James O. Hill of the Anschutz Health & Wellness Center at the University of Colorado.

Drinking diet beverages can help people lose weight. That’s one of the conclusions in a study appearing in the June issue of the Journal of The Obesity Society.

The study divided 303 participants into groups that drank either water or diet beverages (sodas, teas, flavored waters) during a 12-week weight loss program. Subjects who drank diet beverages lost an average of 13 pounds – 44 percent more than the group drinking water. More than half the diet beverage group lost at least five percent of their body weight, which has been shown to significantly lower the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

In addition to the weight loss, the diet beverage group also:

Felt less hungry

Had greater improvements in levels of so-called “bad cholesterol”

Experienced significant reductions in serum triglycerides

“What I found interesting is that the group drinking diet beverages said they felt less hungry. If that helped them be happier on a weight loss regimen, then perhaps it increased diet compliance and that’s what did the trick in tipping the scales in the right direction,” says registered dietitian Carolyn O’Neil, nutrition advisor for Best Food Facts.

Email us at info@momseveryday.com to learn more about becoming a partner, to ask questions about the site or to contribute content.

MomsEveryday.com is here to make Mom’s life easier. We accomplish this with the help of a variety of news sources, community journalists, and comments and suggestions from Moms like you. Some of the fantastic products and services featured on our site are sponsored by advertisers. Some of the comments and opinions expressed on this site do not reflect those of Gray Television, MomsEveryday.com, or its partners. We hope you find that some of our information will make your life easier!